Overwatch Beta Cheaters Are Now Permabanned

Published: May 14, 2016 9:50 AM /

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Overwatch Soldier 76 & D.VA in action

It's been a tradition since time immemorial to cheat in games. Sometimes you want to see what the game is capable of after you've spawned a ton of vehicles in one location or you wanted to sow chaos and despair to the poor inhabitants of whatever city you are in while being invincible to any and all things. All of these things are fine and dandy until people try to gain an unfair advantage in multiplayer games. It is because of this unfair advantage that Blizzard will be punishing players who cheat in the upcoming team-based hero shooter Overwatch.

In a forum post on the official Overwatch forums, community manager Stephanie “Lylirra” Johnson explains what Blizzard's plans are for people who decide to illegitimately augment their experience. 

If you've been caught using bots, hacks or third-party software to give yourself an unfair advantage over other players in either the beta or the official release coming later this month, you will instantly be banned from playing the game forever. No second chances (unless you appeal the ban and prove your innocence), just a permanent ban. 

Not only does cheating undermine the spirit of fair play that all of our products are based on, but it works to diminish the fun and enjoyment of others. While we are unlikely to publicly acknowledge when accounts are closed as a result of cheating or using unauthorized programs, we have and will continue to monitor Overwatch for exploitative behavior, as well as take action as needed to preserve the integrity of game.

If you suspect another player of hacking, you can send an email to hacks@blizzard.com to notify the team of the suspected foul play. While you won't be getting a confirmation back, Lylirra states that a team of engineers and teams will actively investigate every claim to ensure its validity. 

In addition, by popular request, we will also be including an option to report players for potential cheating directly through the game client. This option will be available at launch and can be accessed through the normal right click > “Report” menu.

Before you report anyone, you need to take into consideration that the game's killcam, Play of the Game, highlights and spectator camera don't always replay gameplay at the same fidelity as real-time gameplay. This means that the game might sometimes display aiming that is a bit snappier than it was during actual gameplay. As a result of this, Blizzard isn't relying solely on replays from the game to verify whether someone was cheating.

You should also take into account that some players are just really good at shooters, and being remarkably proficient doesn't necessarily imply that you're cheating. 

As a result, we encourage players to play nice, play fair and avoid publicly accusing individuals of cheating whenever possible and instead use the reporting methods detailed above.

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Chris Anderson
| Staff Writer

I've been playing games since I was just barely able to walk so I might as well write about them.

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Overwatch
Game Page Overwatch
Platforms
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date
May 24, 2016 (Calendar)
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